IMAGINE yourself taking a dip in a vast and luxurious plunge pool at sunset, sipping buko juice straight off the husk and taking in the breath-taking view of the Clark Highlands mountains teeming with trees and greens as the sky bursts into a bright red orange. Nothing can be more perfect.
It’s something that doesn’t happen every day, but in Green Canyon Resort, found in the center of Southeast Asia’s former airspace, Clark Air Field, in the Highlands area which has remained largely untouched through the years, it can happen every day.
Characterized by its open layout, the 29-hectare resort development stands where the verdant landscape of Pampanga’s growing tourism center is punctuated by the rejuvenating flow of the Sacobia River. Green Canyon Resort is easily the first and foremost resort development in the Clark Highlands zone, where the unspoiled forested areas continue to thrive. The resort development is built around the natural terrain of the rolling environs, and green technology – sustainable energy sources, and intelligent space design – has been utilized to create a refreshing, relaxing sanctuary that is ecologically sound and environmentally friendly. Only 10 hectares out of the 29-hectare property has so far been developed.
At the heart of the development is a 60-room boutique gallery hotel, an eco lodge that utilizes boulders from Pinatubo, with bricks from the sugar mills of Negros Oriental lining the floor of the outer area, solar panels providing sustainable energy harnessed from the sun, and a reverse osmosis water filtration system that makes water very clean and potable. Because the resort development is the brainchild of the Jose family, with brothers Abel Jose (the brand manager) and Niccolo Jose (an artist and wooden furniture maker par excellence) at the helm, the hotel also serves as an art gallery that showcases the finest nature-inspired masterpieces. The lobby is like a gallery, with Niccolo’s paintings and sculptures hanging on the walls, and his well-studied, ergonometrically designed wooden chairs of different styles and makes positioned in corners of the hotel to provide rest and relaxation to guests. Even the beds, tables and chairs inside the guest rooms have been intricately handcrafted by Niccolo and his team of artists, so that the guest rooms have been so designed that no two rooms are exactly alike.
Speaking of the guest rooms, they come in different room categories – Presidential Suite, Grand Suite, Suite, Deluxe Room, Superior Room and Standard Room. The rooms open up to unique views, including the free-flowing Sacobia River, the beautiful flower beds that dot the property or the lush canyons of the resort. Green Canyon’s eco lodge or hotel, which utilized a lot of recycled materials, officially opens in September this year. The entire development was conceptualized by the Jose family three years ago initially as a private farm because, in the words of Abel Jose, “our dad didn’t like the traffic, pollution and noise in Manila, and wanted a place that’s free from all that.” The farm was also envisioned to produce healthy, organic vegetables that can be whipped up into delicious, healthy food. Over the course of three years of conceptualization and construction, what was originally meant to be just a farm transformed into a green resort development that the family could share with other people who had the same vision for a healthier world.
THE GREEN LIFESTYLE
Clark turned out to be the ideal place for the eco lodge and green resort that the Joses envisioned because it was just an hour’s drive from Manila and the Clark Highlands had the lush and unadulterated environment fit for the project.
Besides, Clark was already poised to become the next big thing in Philippine tourism. With the Green Canyon hotel formally opening in the Clark Highlands this September, Clark will now successfully go beyond its reputation as a place for casinos and girlie bars.
Take a short walk from the low-rise eco hotel and you’ll find the equally environment-friendly structure that houses the resort’s landmark restaurant, Palette, on the ground floor and Boulders Lounge and function rooms on the upper floors.
FROM FARM TO TABLE
Palette serves farm-fresh, organically grown produce in sensational Asian fusion dishes. Lunch or dinner can, therefore, consist of Green Salad, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Chicken Inasal and Banana Fritters, washed down by Lemongrass Iced Tea, Cucumber-Malunggay Shake or Mango-Cucumber Shake.
Boulders Lounge is where vacationists can enjoy exquisite cocktail concoctions.
Soon, guests can also order cool refreshments and exciting bites at the poolside via the Shed.
LEISURELY PURSUITS
The healthy lifestyle that Green Canyon Resort espouses does not start and end with the food that it serves. It extends all the way to the activities that one can enjoy while staying at the resort. For one, the resort has a huge main swimming pool, Symphony Pool right beside the Palette. Its size alone allows guests to enjoy private areas of the pool, which is surrounded by lounge chairs where they can rest and relax, take a nap while basking in the morning or late afternoon sunshine or simply marvel at the grandiose view of the greens and mountains before them.
There is another pool, the Water+Wave Pool, a little farther on, and it provides the comforting lap of the waves for a refreshing getaway at the center of its calm landscape. But getting to the wave pool is an adventure in itself, as guests have to conquer their fear and cross a hanging bridge before getting there.
The hanging bridge is just a taste of the adventures that await guests in the resort. For more adventurous pursuits, the resort has ATVs (all-terrain vehicles) that they can ride on to explore the resort’s expanse. For one, outdoor lovers can take a nature hike or ride an ATV up to the mountains for a sweeping view of Clark Freeport Zone, the airport and the surrounding areas. A convenient and hearty spread of healthy, farm-fresh dishes can also be enjoyed as in an exquisite picnic.
Soon, Green Canyon will be taking wellness to a whole new level of relaxation and rejuvenation as it sets up spa services and offer invigorating massages and body treatments centered on the traditional healing arts that can best be experienced within the resort’s healthful natural environment.
Outdoor yoga sessions can also be arranged, and since Green Canyon is an artists’ haven, guests can go on an organic art trail around the property to appreciate the sculptural pieces and art installations that are all over the place courtesy of Niccolo Jose. A visit to the workshop can probably also be requested or participate in the Green Canyon Journey, a guided tour of the resort’s scenic landscape which happens twice a day. And to best impart the Green Canyon Resort brand of artistic experience to its guests, workshops/classes in painting, woodworking, sculpting and cooking have been envisioned to be held amidst the resort’s conducive environment, igniting creative inspiration and interactive collaboration among its guests of varying lifestyles and artistic disciplines.
At this point, Green Canyon Resort is all set to redefine hospitality and set new standards in eco tourism. Espousing green living like no other resort has ever done, it will soon become known as a place where one can commune with nature and art and emerge as a better person with a deeper vision of life.
GETTING THERE
Green Canyon Resort goes not accept walk-in guests. Reservations must be made 72 hours in advance, and guests can either drive up to the resort in their private cars or have themselves picked up by the resort’s shuttle, which is inclusive in its packages for big rooms and is a service given for a minimal fee to guests who book smaller rooms. Pick-up points are Dau Terminal in Pampanga or TriNoma in Quezon City, with arrangements made ahead of time.
(Green Canyon Resort is located along San Vicente Road, Clark Special Economic Zone (Sacobia), Pampanga; with telephone number +63 45 499-1381.)
